


Promises Remembered

by SirLadySketch



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AkuRoku - Freeform, Friendship, Gen, I always end up writing Axel/Lea in first person..., I'm always gonna love the relationship between Axel and Roxas, POV First Person, Sortof, Stuff that happens at the end of Dream Drop, fix-it fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 19:43:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: Lea's saved the day, but he's not in a celebratory mood. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a *little* disappointed.Set during the cake scene/party at the end of Dream Drop Distance, after Lea gets his keyblade but before Sora wanders off. Spoilers for... everything I guess?Ra, this one is for you. <3





	Promises Remembered

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waywardrogue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardrogue/gifts).



Well… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little disappointed in how things played out in the end.

Hey, I mean, I’d be the first to say “Hurray! The Kid who’s gonna save the world is back from whatever nightmares Xenmas—Xehanort.... whatever—put him through! So _glad_ the Kid is fine and the day was saved and everything will be sunshine and rainbows again, let’s go beat the bad guys and please remember that I am no longer on their side, thanks. No, I honestly had no idea that Isa was one of them, would you please stop asking me what other nefarious plots they’re up to and believe me when I say I don’t know?” 

Well, ok. Maybe I wouldn’t say it _quite_ like that.

But yeah. I’ll admit to feeling a little disappointed when Sora woke up. _Sora_. And yeah, maybe I was a little angry when the Kid just sort of jumped up and started hugging all of his friends, and when he saw me standing in the corner his first reaction was to aim his keyblade at my heart.

 _Disappointed_. Yeah, we’ll leave it at that.

I mean, it’s not like I’d really gotten my hopes up, or expected anything different. Sure, I gave up my existence as a nobody to save his skin, and yeah, I spent who knows how long trying to manifest a keyblade, and then I was able to swoop in and save the day, but… I dunno. I thought it would…be different when the Kid woke up.

And ok, maybe a little part of me had hoped— _believed_ —that since I’d had a second chance, well, maybe Roxas would too.

 

It’s funny. I finally get my heart back, and I can officially start to feel all of these things again, but all I feel is sad.

 

I mean, who gets sad when there’s _cake?_

 

It’s… time to go. I didn’t actually tell the others where I was going when I came to see the wizard, and while they probably haven’t noticed my absence, I’d like to at least pretend that they care. I mean, didn’t we bond over losing our hearts and joining an evil organization set on summoning a massive world filled with incomprehensible power? Surely that’s gotta count for something. I have friends, really.

Oh man, if Roxas could hear me now, he’d get on my case for moping and tell me to lighten up. I mean, if _Roxas_ would think I was angsting—

Sora looked up, catches my eye, and I can see some of the happiness fade—I literally see the smile leave his eyes, the tensing of his shoulders, the hasty attempt to pretend he didn’t see anything, anyone. Apparently, he’d forgotten that I was here.

Yeah, definitely time to go.

My arm is halfway up and my hand is outstretched, and I can feel the darkness gathering in the corner of the room when there’s a tug on my sleeve.

“Ax—uh, Lea, wait a sec. I wanna talk before you go.”

I hesitate because I know it’s him and I’m starting to wonder if maybe the Kid knows more than he’s letting on, and I can’t quite crush that flutter of hope that maybe my best friend is still in there somewhere. But I turn and it’s Sora who’s giving me that earnest look. Sora, who’s tugging on my sleeve, pulling me towards the door out of the tower. Sora, who waves aside his friends’ concerned looks when he drags the guy that no one is still quite sure about out of the sight of others (I mean, really, what’s it take to get a little trust with these people? I already did the swooping in to save the day thing, what else do I have to do to get a little friendliness here?)

And even though it’s Sora and not Roxas, I decide to humor him because it’s just as easy to escape outside as it is inside. When he sees that I’m not about to fade back into the shadows, he releases my arm and stretches, clasping his hands behind his head and giving me his signature smile. It’s Sora’s smile, not Roxas’, so it makes it a little easier, but given the fact that the Kid tries to make friends with everyone (even the bad guys— _especially_ the bad guys) it’s no big surprise.

Still, I can play along, see what he wants. I cross my arms and lean against the building, tilting my head so I can still look down at him. Kid’s grown since I saw him last. Of course, he’ll stunt his growth if he keeps eating that much cake in one go.

“I never really got a chance to say thank you,” he says, interrupting my thoughts. “The others told me what you did, back in… that place. You really saved our lives. I don’t even wanna think of what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up. Thanks, Lea.”

The worst part is that we all know what would’ve happened—Another puppet like Isa and Braig to add to the collection. Sora’s awakening comes to my mind unbidden, but he wakes up with golden eyes and there’s nothing of the Kid or Roxas left, or it’s buried so deep there’s no chance of getting either of them back.

I swallow the sudden lump in my throat at the thought of that, and fall back on my usual defense.

“Well, you know it’s all part of the training to become a true Keyblade master. Heroic deeds and saving the day are a big part of it.” I tap my finger against my forehead and give him a grin. “Got it memorized?”

Interesting reaction, though, to the thought of losing both of them. Almost like I still thought there was a “both” of them left to save.

But it’s Sora who shakes his head, Sora who sighs, Sora who crosses his arms and looks at the ground. He’s got Roxas’ frown—or, no, I guess Roxas was the one who used to frown like Sora. But it’s not the cranky or frustrated frown he gets when you’ve taken the teasing too far, it’s the Deep Thought Frown (reserved for when things get really serious), and given that Sora isn’t, well… let’s just say it’s not one I’d expect to see on the Kid. I shift against the wall, trying to get a better look at his face, but he’s hiding his expression under his bangs and I can’t quite see anything beyond the Deep Thought Frown.

 

“Lea, when I was sleeping, when I chased the dreams in the World that Never Was, I saw, um,” he shifts from foot to foot, and I think the Kid is actually nervous to talk to me. Or maybe he’s just worried about what I’ll do when he talks. I brace myself—I think I already know where this is going, and it’s not really something I want to talk about right now.

“I mean, when I was in there, I saw all kinds of things, and I dunno what was real and what was fake, there were a lot of people I didn’t really recognize but I felt like I knew them, you know? But one of them stopped to talk to me—I remember that much.” And he looks up, catching me with that familiar expression of worry, those bright blue eyes large and wide.

“Axel, I got to meet Roxas!”

I can’t help it. I flinch, pushing away from the wall and turning towards the bright horizon. I really don’t wanna hear any parting words from someone _else_. If Roxas has—had— something to say to me, he should’ve said it in the Digital Twilight Town. He should’ve said something before he left the Organization. He should’ve said… something. Sora shouldn’t be the one forced to say goodbye.

 

“I’m not gonna give up, and neither should you!”

 

That… is not something I expected to hear. I look over my shoulder to see Sora—is he crying?

“I tried telling him that, but he wouldn’t listen,” Sora says, and yes, there are tears in his eyes but I’m not sure if it’s because he’s sad or if it’s because he’s frustrated. “I told him that he deserved to be a person as much as I did, and then he gave me his memories. I remember everything now, the missions together, ice cream on the clock tower, Winner sticks!”

Sora clenches his fists, frown deepening into a scowl. Ok, well, apparently they’re tears of anger. I guess that’s something. “It’s not fair!”

“Who said anything in life was fair?” I ask, and I can’t quite hold the bite back. I guess it’s anger, or risk tears of my own. Why did I want a heart again?

“I still don’t remember everything, and some things are kinda fuzzy, but I know that you kept your promise!” Sora insists, and he grabs my hand, shaking it. “You kept me safe like you said you would. You watched over us and protected us! I remember your promise, and you came through for him. For me, um, for us?” he trails off, and the Deep Thought Frown comes over his face again.

I can’t help it. I laugh, ruffle his hair, and wave off his thanks. “I didn’t have anything else to do, so why not?”

Great coping mechanism, that. But I guess laughing is better than crying, and I’d probably regret setting the wizard’s trees on fire. Probably. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. I guess I could blame it on the Kid, but somehow, I don’t think that would fly. That’s the only downside to having a signature move (and I do mean only, my moves are awesome).

“No, I mean what I said,” he insists, still not letting go of my hand. “Demyx told me once that nobodies can grow hearts—you did, I think you all did. So even if Roxas originally came from my heart, he had his own, right? So, we just have to find it and get it back for him!”

“I… don’t think it’s quite that easy,” I say, but the Kid’s enthusiasm is catching, and I can feel that damn flicker of hope again. If it’s true, if there was a way… I crush that thought before I finish the sentence in my head. “If anything, Roxas might’ve been Ventus’ nobody, so when we find and wake him up, Roxas will go to Ven.”

Sora sags a little at that. I guess he hadn’t considered that, although it’s been nagging me since the first day I met Roxas, remembering someone else I’d met in another life. And what was it Xigbar had said? ‘ _He used to give me the same look?’_

The grip on my hand tightens again, and Sora shakes his head. Apparently, the Kid only stays down for a few heartbeats before he musters up cheerfulness again. It’d be annoying if it wasn’t so endearing. He’d probably get on Roxas’ nerves after a while, though.

“Even if that’s the case, I think Roxas had a heart of his own. I _know_ he did, I could feel everything he felt, knew everything he knew, remembered… well, most stuff, I think. Like I said, some stuff is fuzzy.” He wrinkles his nose as though he’s trying to remember something, or someone.

“I think there was a girl? She sort’ve looked like Namine. And there were others too, some people I recognized, others I didn’t. But I think they were different hearts that touched mine. I’ve gotta believe that there’s a way to help them all, and you’ve gotta believe, too!”

“Me?” I laugh. I can’t help it, his damn optimism is contagious and he’s grinning through the tears. “Why do I have to believe anything?”

“Because,” he says, “I’m gonna need help! My friends are my strength—I can’t do it alone. Besides, you’re his best friend. Don’t you wanna be there when he wakes up?”

“I—“ I swallow back another lump, deciding that maybe, just maybe, it’s ok to dream a little. The flicker of hope returns a third time, and I know it’s gonna be damn hard to snuff out. “Yeah,” I say at last. “Yeah, of course I’ll be there. I made a promise, didn’t I? Keep it--“

“—Memorized, I’ve got it,” he grins and finally relinquishes my hand. I shake it out, trying to get blood flowing into my fingers again. Kid has a grip, I’ll give him that.

Sora’s beaming at me as though he’s just won the battle of the century, and I look away. I feel like a bit of an idiot, grinning when we really have no basis for our theory or any clue of how to help, but… it’s nice to feel hope again. Hell, it’s nice to feel anything again.

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done, and I know we’re gonna help him. We’re gonna save them all!”

I tsk, ruffling his spikes again. “Yeah, well… just don’t be getting yourself into any more trouble when I’m not around, alright? I’m gonna be busy, training to use the Keyblade and everything. Plus I’ve gotta help the others, since they’re back to doing their Sciencey shit.”

Sora pushes my hand away, laughing. “Lea, we’re gonna figure out a way to help him. I promise.”

 

“You know, you already have, Kid. He was really looking forward to meeting you. Sounds like he finally got his wish.” I turn my attention back to the horizon, and I’m already regretting that I will, in fact, have to leave pretty soon. The Organization is gone, but we’re back to the way we were. You don’t just throw away second chances like that, you need to act, make sure that whatever time you have left counts. Maybe I’ll be lucky and go out with a bang again.

But not before I see Roxas at least one more time.

Sora scrubs his hand across his face, drying his tears and wiping away the sleep that still lingers in the corners of his eyes.

“I know you’re gonna have to go soon,” he says, and he actually sounds sad. Imagine that, the Keyblade wielder actually likes me to some extent. Or maybe it’s Roxas, who knows.

“I mean, we’re all gonna be really busy training and preparing for this final attack. But, I can’t help feeling like there was someone else. Someone else who went on missions? I still can’t remember that girl’s name. And some of the Organization members are still missing, right?”

“Demyx--- or Meyd, I guess,” I say, wondering where in the hell he could’ve woken up. With that guy’s luck, he probably ended up as an octopus or a whale or something in that undersea world. “Plus the people from the Castle. Not sure if that’s a bad thing, though.”

“We’re gonna figure it out,” he says. “I just wish I could remember her name.”

“Ask Namine,” I say, pause, then correct myself, “Kairi. She has all of Namine’s memories, so if there was someone else, Nami—Kairi would know, right? She’s the only one who can’t be affected by her own magic.”

“Yeah… yeah! I’ll ask Kairi!”

“Hey, are you two done? Master Yen Sid wants to speak to you.” Riku stands in the doorway, and even though his voice is kinda gruff, he’s smiling at Sora. Even just looking at the damn Kid makes everyone happy. It must be some sort of weird magical aura or something.

“Yeah, we’ll be right there!” he shouts, and Riku shakes his head before going back inside. Sora holds up his hand, pinky extended.

“I promise we’ll find a way to help them all!” he says, and I laugh, linking my own finger with his.

“I’ll keep it memorized.”


End file.
